In 1953, married Marion McGahan, with whom he would have four children.

In 1951, proposed “Sturgeon’s Law” (“Ninety percent of SF is crud, but then, ninety percent of everything is crud”). Won a prize competition sponsored by British magazine Argosy with story “Bianca’s Hands” (1947). After returning to New York, became an advertising copywriter and literary agent worked for Time and Fortune. Published little between 19: managed a resort hotel in the West Indies, sold door to door, organized military mess halls, and operated a bulldozer in Puerto Rico (leading to the 1944 story “Killdozer!”). Married Dorothy Fillingame in 1940 they would have two daughters, divorcing in 1945. “Ether Breather,” his first science fiction story, appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in September 1939.

Published crime stories and other short fiction with McClure’s newspaper syndicate beginning in 1938.

During three years at sea, began writing stories and poems. He entered Pennsylvania State Nautical School but dropped out after one term, shipping out as an engine room laborer on a freighter. An unexceptional student who excelled in gymnastics, Sturgeon was stricken at age fifteen by rheumatic fever, ending his aspiration to become a circus acrobat. Name legally changed to Theodore Hamilton Sturgeon at age 11 following his mother’s remarriage to William Dickie Sturgeon, who taught at Drexel College in Philadelphia. The novel was one of the first to elevate science fiction into the realm of literature, and inspired musicians and artists, including the Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills & Nash.įrom the Nebula Award-winning author of Godbody, The Dreaming Jewels, and other great works of science fiction, this is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys Ramsey Campbell, Robert Silverberg, or Philip Jose Farmer.Theodore Sturgeon Born Edward Hamilton Waldo on February 26, 1918, in Staten Island, New York, the second son of Edward Molineaux Waldo, a paint and dye manufacturer, and Christine Hamilton Waldo, a Canadian-born teacher. More Than Human is a genre-bending wonder that explores themes of responsibility and morality, individuality, and belonging. Powerfully telepathic, he lacks a moral compass-and his hatred of the world that has rejected him could prove catastrophic. īut are they the next stage in human development or harbingers of the end of civilization? The answer may come when they are joined by Gerry. Together, they are the Gestalt-a single extraordinary being comprised of remarkable parts-although an essential piece may be missing. Individually, they are a seemingly simpleminded young man living in the woods who can read the thoughts of others, a runaway girl with telekinetic powers, twin girls who can barely speak but can teleport across great distances, and an infant with a mind like a supercomputer.

More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon